Beehive cover



Jan. 13. 1925. 1,523,318

w. UTTON BEEHIVE COVER Filed Jan. 9, 1924 William Vii 4m XW;% M BY Patented Jan. 13, 1925,

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WILLIAM UT'ION; OF AZTEC, NEW MEXICO.

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Application filed January To all ivhowz-it omw concern.

This-invention relates-to a cover adapted.

for' beehives of standard construction.-

Theobjec-t of the invention istoprovide a strongandqdurable.cover, which. issimple and: inexpensiveto manufacture, and

which also provides an improved systemofx ventilation.

The cover is constructed 111811011 amanner as to leave adequate space for-complete ventilation, andis preferably provided with i a lining of asbestos, oruother suitable .materiahi so-thatthe bees are .efiicicntly protected againstthe direct heat from the .suns rays. The entire cover, except the lining, may be made from a single blank of sheet metal or pressed steel, which may be stamped out in one operation.

The invention will be more specifically described in connection wit-h the accompanying drawing, which illustrates the same in its preferred form.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a vertical section through the cover applied to a beehive, the upper portion of which is shown in elevation.

Figure 2 is a section taken on the 1111s 22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the underside of the cover-detached, showing the manner of its construction.

The numeral 5 indicates the upper portion of a rectangular beehive, of the usual construction. The cover, which is constructed according to my invention, comprises a rectangular sheet of metal 6, with the edges 8 folded along the l1nes to form the side flanges of the cover. The corners are out along the lines 9 to permit the side portions to be thus folded, while the corner flaps are slit, as indicated at 10, to form tongues 11 and 12. The cuts 9 are so arranged that two opposite flanges 8 w ll have tongues 11 and 12 at each end, while the other two flanges 8 are without tongues. Each of the tongues 11 is bent inwardly on the line 13 and attached to the adjacent side flange 8, so as to secure a rigid construction. A portion of each tongue 11 is cut away, as at 11, to form a marginal strip 9, 1924.- Serial No. 685,222.

15, which is folded upon itself to reinforce theedge of the side flange 8 of which the tongue forms a part, while the marginal portions 15 of the other side flangesare similarly folded. The tongues 12 are angularly bent and secured to the opposite ends of wooden cleats 16, which secure opposite edges of an insulating lining 17 of asbestos, or similar material to the cover. The other edges of the lining 17 preferably extend along the adjacent flanges 8, as indicated at 18, and a series of holes 19 are punched through these flanges, and the burrs thus formed are clinched to secure the portions 18 to thesidcs oi the cover. The lining 17 may be further secured by a metal strip 20, which extends centrally across the in side of the cover and has its end portions 21 secured to the corresponding side flanges 8,while the intermediate portion of, thestrip 20 may be angularly bent, as at, 22, to provide reinforcement.

The cover is so formed that the inturned marginal portions 15 closely engage the side. of the hive, while the marginal portions 15 of the other two side flanges are slightly spaced from the sides of the hive, as shown at 23, to provide for ventilation. Thus, a

complete ventilation is established through the spaces and holes 19, and the burrs surrounding the holes 19 also provide means for firn'ily attaching the lining to the cover. The asbestos lining in combination with the complete ventilating system provides complete protection for the bees against the suns heat. It will also be seen that the method of constructing the cover from a single blank of sheet metal enables it to be constructed economically, and also provides a durable construction without the use 01" solder.

lVhile I have shown and described the specific construction of one form in which the invention may be embodied, it will be understood that this is merely illustrative, and that modifications may be made in the relative size and arrangement of the various parts and certain features may be omitted without departing from the essential principles of the invention as set forth in the claims.

What is claimed is:

1.. A cover for beehives or the like made from a rectangular sheet metal blank, with the sides bent up to form side Flanges for the cover, a heat insulating lining within the cover, and cleats for holding the same, each of the corner flaps of the cover being cut to form two tongues, one of which is secured to the adjacent side flange, and the other of which holds the adjacent end of the cleat.

2. A rectangular metal cover for beehives or the like having peripheral flanges, two opposed flanges being arranged to fit snugly to the hive, the other two being spaced there from and provided with ventilating holes, a heat insulating lining for the cover, said holes being punched to form burrs, and the latter being clinched to secure opposite edges of the lining.

3. A. rectangular metal cover for beehives or the like having peripheral flanges, two opposed flanges being arranged to fit snugly to the hive, the other two being spaced therefrom and provided with ventilating holes, a heat insulating lining for the cover having downturned opposed edges secured to the last-mentioned flanges, strips extending across the lining at right angles to the flanges of the lining and secured to the cover to retain the intermediate portions of the lining, and to form a reinforcement for the cover.

L. A rectangular metal cover for beehives or the like having peripheral flanges, two

opposed flanges being arranged to fit snugly to the hive and the other two spaced therefrom and provided with ventilating holes, a heat insulating lining for the cover, said holes being punched to form burrs, the latter being clinched to secure opposite edges of the lining, cleats extending across the other edges of the lining and across the central portion thereof to retain the intermediate portions of the lining and to form a reinforcement for the cover, corner flaps integral with the cover, each being cut to form two openings, one of which is secured to the adjacent cover flange, and the other of which holds the adjacent end of one of said cleats.

5. A rectangularmetal cover for beehives or the like having peripheral flanges, two opposed flanges being arranged to fit snugly to the hive and the other two spaced therefrom and provided with ventilating holes, a

heat insulating lining for the cover, said holes being punched to form burrs, the latter being clinched to secure opposite edges of the lining, cleats extending across the other edges of the lining and across the central portion thereof to retain the intermediate portions of the lining and to form a reintorcement for the cover.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixed my signature.

WILLIAM UTTON. 

